1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dust separating apparatus employed for a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multi cyclone dust separating apparatus, which utilizes centrifugation to separate dust from air flowed in the vacuum cleaner through multi steps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, vacuum cleaners include a suction brush that draws in dust from a surface to be cleaned, a dust separating apparatus that separates dust from air drawn in through the suction brush, and a suction motor that generates a suction force. Conventional dust separating apparatuses which are mainly employed utilize a dust filter that requires inconvenient and frequent replacements and also creates an unsanitary condition. Recently, cyclone dust separating apparatuses are being widely used. These apparatuses are beneficial in that they do not have a dust filter and, therefore, they can be used for long periods of time. Cyclone dust separating apparatuses utilize centrifugation to separate and collect dust from the air.
Due to the structure and performance of cyclone dust separating apparatuses, they may fail to separate and collect dust particles of minute size. Recently, an enhanced cyclone dust separating apparatus has been developed that improves upon collecting and filtering minute dust particles in air through a two step methodology. One example is a multi cyclone dust separating apparatus (Patent No. 2003-62520) applied by this applicant. This multi cyclone dust separating apparatus includes a plurality of second cyclones that are disposed on an outer circumference of a first cyclone. This results in a significant enhancement in collecting dust particles of minute size. However, the multi cyclone dust separating apparatus is still unable to completely remove minute dust. Accordingly, studies are currently underway on way to improve the efficiency of collecting minute dust particles.